Clarence Otis discusses his version of retirementClarence Otis discusses his version of retirement

Clarence Otis left his post as chairman and CEO of Darden Restaurants Inc. last year, but the longtime executive continues to remain active advocating for health and youth services.

Otis had worked at Darden, the world’s largest full-service restaurant company, since 1995 and had been its CEO since 2004. Before joining Darden — the parent company of Olive Garden, Seasons 52, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, The Capitol Grille, Eddie V’s, Yard House and, until last year, Red Lobster — he spent 11 years at Chemical Securities Inc., now JP Morgan Securities Inc.

Otis recently discussed his post-Darden life, and his new position on the board of directors of Healthy Dining, parent company of healthydiningfinder.com, with Nation’s Restaurant News.

Do you consider yourself retired?

I do. I’ve got a number of things that I’m doing and working on, but none of them are a full-time job, so that’s retired to me.

But you’re not sitting by the pool with your feet up.

No, I’m active on several corporate boards, Healthy Dining being one of those, Verizon Communications, and VF [corporation, an apparel company], but also on not-for-profit boards — Cleveland Clinic, the National Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Club of America, Williams College, where I went to school, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.

So you’re involved in improving society, supporting the arts and business. You’re a renaissance man.

Yeah, a little bit, with a focus on health and dieting, but also youth services.

And Jazz.

They’ve got a big educational outreach [at Jazz at Lincoln Center]. So youth services is a big part of what they do — trying to make sure that we have a pipeline of musicians to come after them.

What about Verizon?

I’ve been on the Verizon board for nearly a decade. People are leading increasingly digital lifestyles, so you really get a feel for that part of people’s lifestyles — being in that part of the ecosystem that Verizon’s part of. So that really winds its way through all of the other things that I do. It’s a great perch to see what’s going on and what the future holds.

It’s a very dynamic area. The changes are incredible — and different demographics, especially by age, use their devices in very different ways.

Why did you decide to join the board of Healthy Dining?

It is a company whose moment has arrived when you think about a confluence of factors: what consumers are looking for, what health care providers are looking for, what employers, who pay a large percentage of the cost of healthcare in this country, are looking for.

[President and founder] Anita [Jones-Mueller] has been at it for a long time and doing terrific groundwork, and so she’s well positioned to take advantage of that moment.

What’s your role going to be?

A sounding board for Anita and her team, providing introductions where I can. Restaurants are responsive to consumers, so that consumer interest in healthier options is going to drive a lot of interest on the part of restaurateurs.

I’ve seen a lot of data about how people eat and how they think about eating. That’ll be helpful as well.

Did you see a growing interest from your customers at Darden in more healthful eating?

We did, for sure. You certainly saw it, and [Darden’s] response to it, with offerings like Seasons 52 [Darden’s premium, seasonal brand], which has been very successful.

[Seasons 52] fills a certain niche. Given its price point, it’s a narrower niche than others. But you see it even in the more broadly accessible brands when you look at their menus and how they’ve evolved over time, and the increasing interest in the lighter fare options on the part of consumers, [as well as] increasing time and attention that the restaurant brands pay to better lighter fare options.

Better in terms of their nutritional perspective or their taste or both?

Both, but certainly on the taste side — really making sure that there’s a lot less compromise to get to the appropriate nutritional content than there has been in the past.

So that customers didn’t feel like they were giving up on the restaurant experience by selecting a more healthful option?

That’s right.

Did you see more guests actually making those choices?

Inside a restaurant you’ve got a lot of consumer segments. There are some consumers who feel good going to a restaurant that offers healthy options, but when they go out they’re looking to indulge. So they’re not that interested in the option, but the fact that the restaurant is paying attention is important to them. Then you have other consumers who really are interested in a more healthful option, especially those who dine out a lot, and so they can’t indulge every time they go out.

Does that last group include business travelers with money to spend?

For sure the folks who dine out more frequently are the ones who are interested in the more healthful options in the restaurants.

Does your involvement with Boys & Girls Club of America touch on nutrition at all?

They’re very interested in childhood health and wellness.

When you step back and look at a broader context, what you’re looking at is an increasing interest [nationally] in healthy lifestyles and preventive healthcare, and this is really part of that. Because clearly, when you think about prevention, diet and nutrition are a big part of that. Obviously another big component of that is physical activity, but science is telling us it’s less important than diet.

I’d think also that many of the people in Boys Club & Girls Club programs would also be at risk for having eating habits that might not be conducive to a healthy life later on.

Well there’s a higher risk for a lot of different reasons. You’ve got kids in many cases who are in tough neighborhoods, so their ability to be active physically gets constrained by that.

What’s on your agenda at Healthy Dining?

Anita and her team have done a really great job of developing a comprehensive database of restaurant menu items and the nutritional value of those items, and they’ve done a good job of helping people navigate around restaurants, and so we want to make sure that they can scale from where they are. That’s probably the most important immediate priority.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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